Hunt for Gollum "doesn't have to" live up to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, says Elijah Wood: "It is a side quest"

The new Lord of the Rings movie The Hunt for Gollum has a lot riding on it, with Gollum actor Andy Serkis directing the film as well as starring in it. But Frodo actor Elijah Wood says that, despite the pressure to deliver something special, the new movie doesn't have to stand in the shadow of its predecessors.

"I don't think it has to, because it doesn't bear the weight of the trilogy," Wood tells the HappySadConfused podcast (around the 46 minute mark) when asked how The Hunt for Gollum will live up to the original Lord of the Rings movies. "It's not the trilogy. It's not those books. But it is certainly excerpts from the books, and it is characters from the books. It is all canon, so I can say that. It is a side quest. It's a side story."

"I think it'll provide a lot of context for Gollum and an understanding of that character that we only got a bit of in the prologue [of Return of the King]...where we see his transformation. I don't think it's revealing much, because I believe the premise has been released, but I think we'll get to see more of that," Wood continues.

"I know this is something that was super important to Andy, and I'm sure he'll talk about it, but, like, the 'why' of it. And I think they got excited at the notion of a nugget of a story, then they wrote it and realized they had found the 'why are we doing this?' Well, this is why we're doing it. So it's filled with integrity."

At the same time, Wood assures fans that most of the original creative team of the classic LotR trilogy is returning for The Hunt for Gollum, from LotR director Peter Jackson who serves as producer all the way down to the production staff and effects crew.

"It's also filled with, you know, the crew is largely the same. Certainly the larger creative team is essentially the same creative braintrust as the original film. So it's the same production designers, it is the same make-up and hair team. Obviously Weta FX are doing all of the physical effects, so it really is like a coming together of the original team," Wood explains.

"Fran [Walsh], Peter [Jackson], Phillipa [Boyens], they're all involved in the writing and producing. It's loaded with so many people who were a part of the making of the trilogy devoted to making sure that they get the world right, and the context right, and do right by these characters, and tell a really fun, compelling, great new story incorporating these characters. I say that as a fan, I'm genuinely stoked."

The Hunt for Gollum arrives on December 17, 2027. In the meantime, fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movies of the year.